New procedures are being put together for Sag use for this year's ride. Although we are available for lifts up steeper sections, mechanical transport or medical reasons we are not set up to be a shuttle service. We have water and snacks and are willing to share. Please give us a "thumbs down" for assistance. Please come prepared to ride.

Kermit has moved on to help run communications up on a mountain side. He will only be seen late at night in camp. Bart is planning on returning and I'm already stocking up on the 15 gallons of bubble solution needed for the week.

John, can you please tell us how this new procedure differs from years past. If I have to use the service, which hopefully won't be necessary, I want to make sure I'm using it for the right reasons. Thanks.

We started training on the tandem in mid April and are trying to follow an aggressive schedule but if on day 7 you find the two of us laying along side the road, too weak to give you a thumbs down and the tandem in a ditch, please stop. You rescued us in 2008 on the last climb on the way to Joseph and we have been forever grateful.

John, you guys saved my bacon last year about 2 miles short of the top of the big hill on day three and I'll always be grateful. With 2,000 miles under my belt, I sure didn't expect to hit the wall, but I did and still don't know why, maybe a touch of the bug. I had no further problems for the remainder of the ride.

A couple of years ago at a rest stop I had a gentleman tell me that "I've been riding over the hills for years and now I don't want to. I'm riding the SAG wagon to the top of all of these mountains." or words to that effect. I think that is the sort of thing that they're trying to avoid this year. After all, if you sign up for a bike ride, you should ride unless you do have issues like the two fine folks who posted before me here had...

That's what they are trying to say. We are not set up to shuttle all 2000 riders at out best, fully loaded, we can only carry 72 riders. Consider that we are spread out over most of the course on any given day. If we are shuttling only, we are not available to handle emergencies.

That being said, if you do need a ride up a particularily hard hill, we are happy to help out. Please note, if we do have an emergency, you will be along for the ride wherever we end up and if the van is full, you will be dropped to make room. This may put you further ahead or behind than you may want to be.

As a sag driver, I will be glad to give you a lift as you need it. If we are not around for that lift, consider walking the hill rather than waiting for a lift or shift down and climb slowly, rest as needed.

My favorite sag story is this: On my first CO in 2001, I rode the incredible option ride out to French Glen, up the steep hill and on to Roaring Springs Ranch (and beyond). An amazing day, culminating in a huge storm cell, torrential rain, lightning and wind storm. One of the best days of my riding life.

Anyway, I had a flat on the road to RSR, after screaming along on that beautiful road for a while. Naturally, it was back tire. I completed the change, and just as I was pumping it up (only to discover that I had carefully REINSTALLED the punctured tube, and the nice new one was where I laid it a few feet away), up comes a sag wagon on that lonely road, slows down, pulls up, window rolls down (me expecting "Can we help?!), and instead I hear "Excuse me, would you have any Grey Poupon?". (Readers of a certain age will remember that TV ad.)

A good laugh, got me through having to take the wheel back off, all the while learning a valuable lesson about paying attention to what you are doing. Other than that, I have ascribed to the "Death Before Sag" motto, and have never burdened a sag wagon.

Tender Chunks wrote:A good laugh, got me through having to take the wheel back off, all the while learning a valuable lesson about paying attention to what you are doing. Other than that, I have ascribed to the "Death Before Sag" motto, and have never burdened a sag wagon.My favorite sag story is this: On my first CO in 2001, I rode the incredible option ride out to French Glen, up the steep hill and on to Roaring Springs Ranch (and beyond). An amazing day, culminating in a huge storm cell, torrential rain, lightning and wind storm. One of the best days of my riding life.

Other than that, I have ascribed to the "Death Before Sag" motto, and have never burdened a sag wagon.

Gordon -

So you are making a distinction between the "Bring Out Your Dead!" wagon for the plague victims last year and the SAG wagon?

I definitely remember the ride up to Roaring Springs. One mile at 16% thinking I was indestructible, standing and cranking on my double chainring. The patellar tendonitis still bothers me on long rides; that was my last CO until last year.

Now I have a triple with XTR mtn bike gearing - but this year looks blessedly free of killer hills. Coming back from Roaring Springs, I got blown back to camp ahead of that storm cell and just got a few drops on my back before ducking into my tent to wait out the deluge!

Alex from Eugene"work to eat, eat to live, live to ride, ride to work"

Every morning at the camp, you could see him arise.He stood 5 foot 10, weighed 145.Kind of broad at the shoulders, narrow at the hip.And everybody knew you didn't give no lip to Big Jon.

Big JonBig JonBig Bad Jon

Nobody seemed to know where Jon called homeHe just drifted in from Wales and stayed all alone.He didn't write much, kind of quiet and shyAnd if you spoke at all, you'd just said hi to Big Jon.

Somebody said he came from Rhosllannerchrugog,Where he got into a fight over an insult to the Queen.And a crash and a blow from a floor tyre pump,Sent a local fella to the local dump.

Big JonBig JonBig Bad Jon

Then came the day at the bottom of the climb,When a sag wagon crashed and men started crying.Cyclers were praying, and hearts beat fastAnd everybody thought they had climbed their lastCept' Jon.

Through the fog and the bubbles of this man made hell,Rode a giant of a man that the cyclers knew well.Grabbed a sagging cycler - pulled him out of the van with a groan,And like a giant oak stood there talking with Ingrid on his cel phone.

Big JonBig JonBig Bad Jon

And with all of his might, Dave Wilensky made clouds moveThen a cyclist yelled out, 'theres sunlight up above!And 2000 folks scrambled uphill from a 'would be' grave,Now there’s only one left down at the water stop to save, Big Jon.

With snacks and spare tires, they started back down,Then came that rumble in the tummy from way, way down.And as sweat and gas belched out of that paceline,Everybody knew it was Heiferweizen time, so phooey on Jon.

Big JonBig JonBig Bad Jon

Now they never re-used that one lane road,Just placed a marble slab on an old sag van.These few words are written where the driver once rode -“At the bottom of this climb, lies one Hell of a man, Big Jon”